iMac G5: Noisy fan!!

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Mainyehc

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Hey! I just bought an iMac G5 yesterday, and I love the thing... However, I'm very concerned about some strange noises coming from my iMac. I think this hasn't anything to do with those power supply issues; All I can say is that even when the fans are running at low speed, they sound a little weird, not as quiet as the iMac G4's fan. I don't know if the problem is in the three of them, two of them, or one of them, all I know is that it's weird...
And something way worse than that: I don't know if this is like that PM G5 fan issue, but I think not. Yesterday I ran Apple Hardware Test and I heard those fans speeding at full speed (I think that's maybe something normal to happen during the HW test), and I was relieved to know that my iMac isn't actually running its fans ad full speed right now. Still, when I turn it on, its almost as silent as advertised; yes, it's quieter than my old iMac G4. But I'm only running iTunes, aMSN, and Safari, and it's slowly getting louder (the fans are not getting even near their full speed, but are too loud for such a small CPU usage anyway) And if you add the other issue, yes, it means that my iMac is very annoying to listen to (more than my old iMac)... Weird... veeery weird... Should I expect some firmware update or something?? Or should I send it for repair?
 
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M

Mainyehc

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Update:

Here's an update: I decided to put it in sleep mode, and wait a few minutes... I think it's quieter now. The next time it gets loud, I'll try a reboot. Maybe this happens just because the computer warms up, and needs more cooling, and that, combined with the strange noise issue, is not serious, just annoying? I wouldn't be concerned about this if Apple didn't go around boasting that the new iMac is whisper quiet... They should be careful about what they say, or otherwise, have a better QC. I'm not one of those "won't buy until Rev. B" whiners, but I think maybe I'm paying for that right now... My "old" iMac G4 is 8 months old, it's the latest, 1,25 model. Never had any troubles with it (except for a green dead pixel, but I know there are a lot of TFT screens affected by that issue), maybe because it was a mature system, they really had time to solve all issues that there might have been.
Anyway, it makes no sense that buying a new product should be THAT risky... And Apple is disappointing me lately; I was willing to replace my 20 GB 3G iPod with a 20 GB 4G, and I'm not doing it anymore, not until I'm sure those nasty audio defects are solved once and for all. Better yet, I think I'll just wait for the 5G. And this is bad for Apple, very bad... And bad for their costumers; those who are "loyal" to the platform (i.e. Macheads - I think I almost qualify as one), will wait and whine, those who aren't, will just buy a PeeCee and a Creative Zen... Waaaaay to go, Apple! :(
 

rman


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I am a little confused here. You have placed this comment in several threads, basically saying the iMac is not whisper quiet. To my understanding, whisper quiet means that the system is quiet as a whisper. That means to me that it is not quiet at all. The system shoulf not be louder than a person whispering.

I know there are a lot of desktop computer that are very loud compare to the iMac.
 
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M

Mainyehc

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rman said:
I am a little confused here. You have placed this comment in several threads, basically saying the iMac is not whisper quiet. To my understanding, whisper quiet means that the system is quiet as a whisper. That means to me that it is not quiet at all. The system shoulf not be louder than a person whispering.

I know there are a lot of desktop computer that are very loud compare to the iMac.

YES! Indeed there are... But I don't know... my fan just sounds weird! I'm saying this because... I don't know... Perhaps I should record a few seconds so you can hear what it sounds like... But I'll try to describe it: The fan, instead of sounding like a soft breeze, as my iMac G4's fan, sounds more "mechanical", like a crappy electric motor. Not loud, just irritating. And it seems to me it's ONE of the fans, not all of them. And when they speed up, the sound is like wind, which is normal, but I can also still distinguish that irritating fan, proportionally louder. I think I should be hearing mainly the sound of the air circulating through the case and the fans, not that mechanical noise, IMHO. I know I'm being picky, that fan just doesn't sound "good". lol

Apart from that noise, why am I complaining? *my iMac G5 is LOUDER than my iMac G4* (i.e. NOT as advertised by Apple), running the exact same apps. Is it because the G5 processor is **** hot and the fans are adjusting their speed so they can cool the computer while it's doing such an intensive task as WEB-BROWSING?? It doesn't make sense to me, IMHO.

Oh, and I left it in sleep mode for quite some time now, and it is as quiet as when I turn it on... It still doesn't make sense that the heat isn't dissipated quickly enough so that the fans can slow down a bit. A while ago, I inserted a CD in the slot loading Superdrive, then ejected it, and continued with my web browsing, and chatting while listening to iTunes, and the fans became gradually louder... Does it take so much time to cool a warm Superdrive? I'm trying a smarter approach, to feel where does the heat come from. Yes, the right side of the cooling gap was rather warm, even though I hadn't the CD playing for more than just a few seconds. I don't get it, the CPU shouldn't be very hot, and it wasn't... Is a slot-loading drive hotter than a regular drive? Perhaps we're all being fooled by Apple with that "quieter than iMac G4" talk. Maybe it's more "quieter than iMac G4 until you decide to use the optical drive". I don't remember if the left side of the cooling gap was warm or not, if it was, maybe my hard drive got very hot because of iTunes constantly accessing it (doesn't make much sense either, if my iPod doesn't overheat while playing 128kbps AAC files, so why should my iMac's HD? lol)?? That, or my computer-controlled fans are not working properly!

However, I'm just speculating, ok? There's only one thing I know: At full fan speed, the iMac G5 is VERY loud. I hope it only makes that noise when running the hardware test. I can assure you, it was as loud as my crappy 6-year-old PeeCee, it was a frightening experience, for a moment, I thought my brand new machine was about to blow up! Then, it stayed constantly loud for the next 15 minutes, until the test was over. I sure hope I don't ever need to hear *that* again... ;)

I haven't been running any processor-intensive apps with my iMac G5... I was expecting my iMac G5 to behave like a PowerMac G5: loud, yes, but only when needed. I'm lucky that this issue isn't, like I said before, the same as that old issue with the PowerMacs (fans running at full speed). If that happened, instead of getting annoyed because my €2050 machine makes strange noises, I'd have gone mad by now :D
 
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N

ninjasquid

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Coming from PC land, I know that the software is most likely not the issue. the FAN is. maybe it's hitting something, or whatever. rip the back off and prod around. See if it's hitting anything, or rubbing, or ANYTHING. The OS/firmware/bios just controls the speed of the fans. If it happens at low RPM's AND high RPM's how could it possibly have anything to do with the OS? Just use a little SA.


My $0.02

edited for harshness
 
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T

tom555

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This issue is already known by Apple. The part which makes the noise is the power supply. it will be replaced if you call customer service. They will send you a knew power supply without any payment.I read that in a computer magazine from Germany. The iMacs which are delivered now are already fixed.
 
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M

Mainyehc

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tom555 said:
This issue is already known by Apple. The part which makes the noise is the power supply. it will be replaced if you call customer service. They will send you a knew power supply without any payment.I read that in a computer magazine from Germany. The iMacs which are delivered now are already fixed.

Hum... I've heard of that one, even before buying my iMac; Now, that noise was described as a "clicking" noise. Is "clicking" related to a constant whirring?? I'm portuguese, so can't possibly know all the english verbs and adjectives and their exact meanings... I thought "clicking" would be like making loud "clicks". Whatever. I'll search for that piece of news, in which some chinese power supplies were mentioned; I also recall something about the issue being related with the electric current, 220V AC, which is what we use here in Portugal. I'll have to add some RAM maybe next month, so I'll probably check that out then. Thanks!
 
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L

LCé

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Hello,

yes I understand, I have the same problem on my iMac G5 20'.
I'm waiting for an Apple tech. to come home and see what's wrong.

The noise is coming from the CPU fan which is "buzzing" ... It's not a normal sound for a fan. It's really annoying and I can't work with it.

I read many complaints on forums about that.
 
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Great.. looking forward to getting my iMac G5 20".. hearing all these problems.. Im really beginning to wonder :(
 
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Murlyn my 17" iMac is on the way but I think they got the kinks with the Fans sorted out.

I have seen people on the apple discussion boards who have had problems with their BT Mouse and Keyboard when using items in the USB ports that need more power (The internal BT Module connects to an internal USB Port) but none of the instances that have occurred with that should affect me.
 
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I sure hope so.. several of these threads are really beginning to make me rethink my decision :)
 
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I notice when the fans speed up they tend to whine a little bit but it's not as loud as you are suggesting, so I'm guessing it's something specific to your iMac. As someone else said, open it up and have a look, if you can't find anything then give Apple a call.
 
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bisoladefuye

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Well, My G5 is ridiculously Loud as well... I love my G5 but once its been runs for a few hours the fans just go into over drive and I crashes. As this is my first ever apple computer, I have to say I'm not very impressed. I changed to apple precisely becuase I was tired of my PeeCee crashing on me. My next cause of action is to call the support guys and see if they can help but if not, I'm returning the G5 and getting my money back and reverting to the good old Windows PC.
 
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Hmm.. I sure hope mine is not.. I have quite a bit more faith in Apple though, since I have owned several machines so far and have never had any problems with them.. so I know how well they function before purchasing this iMac.. if the iMac does not function as well as my Powerbook.. oh they will be hearing from me :)
 
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fox

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Murlyn said:
Hmm.. I sure hope mine is not.. I have quite a bit more faith in Apple though, since I have owned several machines so far and have never had any problems with them.. so I know how well they function before purchasing this iMac.. if the iMac does not function as well as my Powerbook.. oh they will be hearing from me :)


Well I cant believe it. Just got my new G5 17" 1.8 and the fan(s) are noisy with a high pitch whine. This is the same problem I had with the first iMac (Bondi Blue) that I bought.

How can this happen in 2004? The PoweBook I have is fine.

Trolling the Net I see this is a common complaint which has been fixed on some machines but not on others.

Anyhow I'm off to Apple to yell at them ...
 
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Mine seems to be great.. man I love it! It's crazy going from a 15" powerbook monitor to a 20" iMac monitor.. it's sweet! It should definitely be working and I do not get any high pitch whines.. so something is wrong.. go have a good chat with Apple.
 
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Murlyn said:
Mine seems to be great.. man I love it! It's crazy going from a 15" powerbook monitor to a 20" iMac monitor.. it's sweet! It should definitely be working and I do not get any high pitch whines.. so something is wrong.. go have a good chat with Apple.
Glad to hear yours is working great murlyn since I ordered mine right around the same time as you. Can't wait til X-Mas to get the bad boy running and make sure its working fine
 
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Yeah you're going to love it :) and it was good to find out that my keyboard was bad on my laptop, thus why it wouldnt boot up in target disk mode.. which reminds me, I need to post in that other thread I started about what the fix was.. and I need to notify apple about what the solution to the problem was so that they can add that to their kbase.
 
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After some more research it appears that almost every instance with the fan problems is with iMacs in Europe (as well as Australia) with a few instances in the US
 

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